ADU · Monroe County

Can you build an ADU in Wheatland, NY?

Town of Wheatland has 5 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Wheatland code says

Wheatland has no accessory dwelling unit. Its route to a second unit is converting a one-family house to a two-family, a special exception use in AR-2, R-24, R-16 and R-12 that goes to the Planning Board and creates two full dwellings. RA prohibits it.

Conditions the code attaches:

Minimum lot area is set per dwelling unit under § 130-11: R-24 24,000 sq ft, R-16 16,000 sq ft, R-12 12,000 sq ft, and AR-2 two acres without public water or 50,000 sq ft with it.
On its face a two-family conversion needs twice the single-family lot figure; confirm how the board reads it with code enforcement at (585) 889-1553.
Approval turns on the general standards of § 130-61: harmony with the chapter's purposes, an adequate plot, no harm to adjacent uses and a suitable site.
The code publishes no size, owner occupancy or kinship condition for the converted unit, and § 130-62's special conditions do not cover conversions.
Housing up to two roomers is permitted in R-24, R-16 and R-12 and a special exception in AR-2, provided separate kitchen and entrance facilities are not provided, so it is lodging, not a unit.
On a farming operation, the Town Board may issue a one-year, renewable, non-transferable permit for one mobile home behind the principal residence for an employee of the owner (§ 89-6).

What the Wheatland code indicates by district

The table below shows how each district treats ADUs, alongside the lot and setback standards that govern a second unit. District boundaries and conditions vary, so treat this as a starting point and confirm the district that applies to your parcel.

District	Min lot	Setbacks F / S / R	Max height	ADU
Agricultural Residential 2	2 ac	75 / 25 / 40 ft	35 ft	No
Residence 24	0.92 ac	50 / 15 / 35 ft	35 ft	No
Residence 16	0.92 ac	50 / 12 / 35 ft	35 ft	No
Residence 12	0.46 ac	35 / 10 / 30 ft	35 ft	No
Residence A	0.28 ac	50 / 30 / 30 ft	35 ft	No

Agricultural Residential 2 - With public water, coverage rises from 10% to 20% and the land required per dwelling unit falls from two acres to 50,000 sq ft.

With public water the lot drops to 50,000 sq ft and the width from 200 ft to 175 ft, and roughly 57% of the town's residential parcels have public water, so check it parcel by parcel.
An open space development is a by-right form of at least 5 acres, and is mandatory for a subdivision of more than four lots from a source parcel of 100 acres or more.
At least 40% of the gross site must be dedicated open space in common ownership, at least 75% of that contiguous with no portion narrower than 100 ft, and half of it kept natural.
On a corner lot a side yard abutting the side street owes the same as the front yard, and front and corner-side setbacks are measured from the street line, not the property line.
Where public sewers are not available, a lot must have enough space for a private sanitary waste disposal system, as determined by the Monroe County Health Department.
Under § 130-32 a one-storey dwelling needs 1,000 sq ft on the ground floor; a taller one needs 1,300 sq ft in total and a first-floor area of at least 650 sq ft, at least 20 ft across.

Residence 24 - The lot minimum shown is the 40,000 sq ft required on septic; the nominal 24,000 sq ft lot applies only with public sewer and public water.

Roughly 88% of the town's residential parcels are on private septic, so the 24,000 sq ft lot the district is named for is confined to the sewered area and the larger figure shown is the normal case.
An open space development is a by-right form of at least 5 acres, and is mandatory for a subdivision of more than four lots from a source parcel of 100 acres or more.
At least 40% of the gross site must be dedicated open space in common ownership, at least 75% of that contiguous with no portion narrower than 100 ft, and half of it kept natural.
On a corner lot a side yard abutting the side street owes the same as the front yard, and front and corner-side setbacks are measured from the street line, not the property line.
Where public sewers are not available, a lot must have enough space for a private sanitary waste disposal system, as determined by the Monroe County Health Department.
Under § 130-32 a one-storey dwelling needs 1,000 sq ft on the ground floor and a taller one 1,300 sq ft in total, with a first-floor enclosed area of at least 650 sq ft.

Residence 16 - The nominal 16,000 sq ft lot applies only with public sewer and public water. On septic, R-16 requires 40,000 sq ft, the same as R-24.

Roughly 88% of the town's residential parcels are on private septic, so the 16,000 sq ft lot the district is named for is confined to the sewered area and the larger figure shown is the normal case.
An open space development is a by-right form of at least 5 acres, and is mandatory for a subdivision of more than four lots from a source parcel of 100 acres or more.
At least 40% of the gross site must be dedicated open space in common ownership, at least 75% of that contiguous, and half of it kept in a natural undisturbed condition.
On a corner lot a side yard abutting the side street owes the same as the front yard, and front and corner-side setbacks are measured from the street line, not the property line.
Where public sewers are not available, a lot must have enough space for a private sanitary waste disposal system, as determined by the Monroe County Health Department.
Under § 130-32 a one-storey dwelling needs 1,000 sq ft on the ground floor and a taller one 1,300 sq ft in total, with a first-floor enclosed area of at least 650 sq ft.

Residence 12 - The lot minimum shown applies with public water and Health Department approval of a septic system; the nominal 12,000 sq ft lot needs full public services.

Roughly 88% of the town's residential parcels are on private septic, so the 12,000 sq ft lot the district is named for needs full public services and the figure shown is the normal case.
An open space development is a by-right form of at least 5 acres, and is mandatory for a subdivision of more than four lots from a source parcel of 100 acres or more.
At least 40% of the gross site must be dedicated open space in common ownership, at least 75% of that contiguous with no portion narrower than 100 ft, and half of it kept natural.
On a corner lot a side yard abutting the side street owes the same as the front yard, and front and corner-side setbacks are measured from the street line, not the property line.
Where public sewers are not available, a lot must have enough space for a private sanitary waste disposal system, as determined by the Monroe County Health Department.
Under § 130-32 a one-storey dwelling needs 800 sq ft on the ground floor and a taller one 1,000 sq ft in total, with a first-floor enclosed area of at least 650 sq ft, 20 ft across.

Residence A - RA is the town's only multi-family district: the lot must be at least 12,000 sq ft, and the number of units is set by 3,500 sq ft of land per dwelling unit. It is available only with public sewer and public water.

A single-family dwelling here follows note 3 instead: 80 ft of width, a 35 ft front setback, 10 ft to each side with 20 ft for the pair, 30 ft to the rear and 30% coverage.
Its floor area is 800 sq ft for a one-storey dwelling and 1,000 sq ft in total for a taller one.
An open space development is a by-right form of at least 5 acres, mandatory above four lots from a source parcel of 100 acres, with 40% of the site as open space and 75% of that contiguous.
On a corner lot, a side yard abutting the side street owes the same as the front yard.
Front and corner-side setbacks are measured from the street line, not the property line.
Minimum floor area under § 130-32 runs by unit: 550 sq ft for an efficiency, 700 for a one-bedroom, 850 for a two-bedroom and 150 sq ft more for each added bedroom.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Wheatland

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of Wheatland. The Town of Wheatland has no local short-term rental law, and that is not the same as permission. Confirm with Code Enforcement before counting on renting a home short term. These are separate questions from whether you can build an ADU — a unit you're allowed to add isn't automatically one you're allowed to rent nightly, so check both.

Good to know

Residential lot minimum0.28–2 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityRG&E territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/10501174
Building dept(585) 889-1553

ADU FAQ — Wheatland, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Wheatland, NY?

Town of Wheatland has 5 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (585) 889-1553.

Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Wheatland?

No. No district in Town of Wheatland permits an ADU, so there is no permit to apply for. Codes change, so verify with the building department at (585) 889-1553 before ruling it out.

Can I use an ADU as a short-term rental in Wheatland?

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of Wheatland. ADU occupancy and short-term-rental rules are separate: an ADU you can build isn't automatically one you can rent nightly. Confirm both before you count on STR income.

Run the free ADU check for your parcel →

What an ADU costs to build in Wheatland

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $200k–260k at a standard finish, and the per-square-foot rate comes in above a full house because the kitchen, bath, panel and heating plant cost the same either way. See the full cost to build an ADU in Wheatland, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Ch. 130 § 130-10 Table of Use Regulations (conversion of one-family dwelling for two-family dwelling); §§ 130-11, 130-59 to 130-62; § 130-35; Ch. 89 §§ 89-6, 89-7
Districts confirmed: 5 of 5 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-13
Not covered here: Overlay districts, the zoning map, and any conditions attached to an individual parcel. Size limits and owner-occupancy terms sit in the code section above, not in this summary.

More on Wheatland: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Monroe County · All Monroe County towns

ADU information for Town of Wheatland is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-08-13) and provided for decision-support only — not legal or architectural advice. ADU eligibility, size, owner-occupancy and permit conditions vary by district and often carry exceptions; verify with the building department at (585) 889-1553 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.